Calendula and Honey CP

[LoveOscar]

Calendula tea steeped overnight for full water replacement. Calendula infused Olive Oil. At trace: 1 tspn honey, 1 tspn turmeric powder (for color), and Wildflower Honey FO from BB.

Calendula infused Olive Oil:

Oils and lye tea infusion combined:

Turmeric, honey, and FO added at trace:

Poured into the mold:

 

[KristaY]

Love your method of straining the oil out of the calendula! I usually use a very fine sieve but I like your way much better. Your soap looks lovely!

 

[LoveOscar]

I was reading when fast infusing oil on the stove, it needs to breathe, so the cheese cloth held on by the canning jar ring seemed like a good idea. It was a pain in the butt to get off once the cloth was soaked with oil after straining, but it worked beautifully!

I'm waiting for the soap to be ready to unmold so I can cut it and post pictures.

 

[snappyllama]

That looks like skintastic soap! I love calendula tea as a water replacement. I use it in my pine tar and missed it the one time I made it without the tea.

 

[KristaY]

I have a crap load of calendula petals I usually steep in OO but haven't tried the tea yet. What ratio of petals to water do you use? Do you simmer the mixture then let steep?

 

[snappyllama]

I boil my distilled water and then put in almost an equal volume of petals - basically enough so there is only a bit of water showing above when I poke down all the petals. Then I leave about an hour or until completely cool. It makes a very opaque yellow/brown "tea". Then I strain and put the tea into an ice cube tray. My strainer lets through quite a few specks that I think enhance the finished soap.

Safety Note: Since I bring my distilled water to boil in a microwave, I add a few petals to the water before it goes into the microwave. That way my water will not superheat and explode when I move it.

 

[LoveOscar]

I have a crap load of calendula petals I usually steep in OO but haven't tried the tea yet. What ratio of petals to water do you use? Do you simmer the mixture then let steep?

I did a ratio of 1 tbsp dried petals to 1 cup (8 oz) distilled water. I heated 16 oz of water to steaming not quiet bubbling, poured over 2 tbsp of dried calendula petals. Let it steep hot for 20 minutes, then put it in the fridge over night.

 

[LoveOscar]

So the finished loaf finally, reluctantly, allowed me to unmold it. It's still soft, like soy wax, but that made it easy to cut!

I love the speckled look from the turmeric. Not sure how I feel about the overall color, but I know the FO darkened the soap. It looks like honey to me hahaha.

 

[lenarenee]

Do you really notice a therapeutic effect with calendula oils after it's been attacked by the lye monster?

 

[LoveOscar]

No idea. It's the first time I've ever made it.